Lights! Camera! Action! And just like the blue fairy transformed Pinocchio into a real boy with the flick of her wand, our collective American Ismaili history comes to life in this magical theatrical production is sure to leave you breathless, teary-eyed, humbled, and inspired. However, these stories are far from fairy tales; rather, they are true stories of how our brothers and sisters who call America home, came and settled here.
The concept of Stories: Our American Journey, was first conceived by a small group of individuals, including professional Ismaili artists, about a year ago. The core team asked the entire Jamat to submit their stories in a two-minute video, regardless of age, gender, or cultural background. The request was met with over 1100 submissions! Then the selection process began. Co-Directors Samira Noorali, Farah Alwani, and the creative team, filtered through all these videos, and from them emerged some prevailing themes. Forty stories were selected that best embodied these themes and they were filmed in three cities, in a professional documentary format.
Once selected, Samira began the process of crafting music, dance, and script that best reflected the essence and themes of the stories. “As you watch the show, any dance move you see on stage, any notes of music that you hear, or any time you see one of our actors performing a line or expressing an emotion, that is a representation of the Jamat’s story,” states Project Manager Naim Haji.
Auditions were the next part of the process, which were submitted online by the hundreds. Iman Esmail of Los Angeles shared, “I auditioned as a semi-classical dancer, so luckily I am in a couple of segments. But we’ve been dabbling in a little bit of everything, including hip-hop, step, afro-jazz…it’s endless.”
The final cast consists of 33 members from across the nation, who will by the end of it all, have traveled nearly every weekend for a total of six months to bring this production to life. Many of these individuals maintain their full-time responsibilities, then get on a plane Friday night, rehearse a 12 hour day on Saturday, head home on Sunday evening, and resumed “business as usual” on Monday; but the overall sentiment amongst them is, “it’s worth it!”
When asked of his best experience with Stories thus far, dancer Nazish Ali of Dallas said, “I think every time, every weekend you come in, it’s a different experience. But I think the best thing about Stories is that I would’ve never realized that there are so many talented Ismaili artists, especially of this range and caliber; I would’ve never imagined this unless Stories took place.”
The talent exhibited by cast and crew, administrative, executive, and local teams is astounding, and their excitement at being a part of this monumental production is palpable and contagious. It is sure to leave the audience bursting with joy and gratitude for Hazar Imam’s guidance over the years, and the fertile ground it provided for us to become a successful homegrown American Ismaili Jamat.
The tour starts in Orlando at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, on May 26, 2018, and concludes with four consecutive shows in Houston August 4-5, with New York, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, respectively, in between.
Not a fairy tale, it depicts the US Jamat with its struggles and successes, reflecting who we are as a young but optimistic community. Stories: Our American Journey, is a production not to be missed.
Please contact the Stories team at [email protected] with your questions or comments.
